Around freshman year of high school, I wrote an essay about delivering education to students in refugee schools. Since then, it is certain that I have never viewed the world in the same way. You see, it is one thing to read the news, hear about war, share a post about climate change on your Instagram story– yet it is another to really stop to think about the people behind these headlines.

I believe a major fault of this day and age surrounds the fact that we have become so desensitized to the issues that occur around us. Looking at Generation Z, we care so much yet are incapable of of truly feeling. No, this is not about self deprecating internet memes. Based on one hundred percent personal observation, our general optimism has dwindled as we have grown. This is no fault of our own, of course, as the cause lies in the dystopia we were born in. Born into a period of on-going war, financial crisis, and now the irreversible effects of climate change, we were never told we could be anything; rather, we were told we must make it out alive. We could not live on a magical island, because sea-level rise would mean that such island would cease to exist. We could not become mad scientists, because student loans left us mad in debt. We could not travel the world, because political instability has tormented our nations. You get the picture.

I can only speak for students in developed nations. However, mainstream media has distanced themselves from commenting on the narratives of millions of children and teenagers worldwide, who are displaced due to war, living under the poverty line, fighting as child soldiers, working as child labours, sold into human trafficking, among many other cases of adversity.

We often discuss race privileges in developed nations, yet we must exercise our wealth privilege in order to raise the voices of those who matter just as much as anyone else.

If you’re still unsure as to why you’re here, let me debrief.

This single, minuscule post serves as a starting point for my journey towards understanding the plight of children who are not only my age, but perhaps even yours too. Congratulations! The fact that you are here is the first step towards ensuring that the platform for unheard voices are heard.

Throughout the next few weeks, months, years, or even decades, I will bring you along with me– be it through an on-site investigation, commentary on an interesting article, or fascinating youth that inspire me (and hopefully you, too).

“furstgrader” is not just a blog about youth (or even first graders, contrary to what I would assume popular belief), it is a blog about what the youth are doing about problems we did not even create. Thus, this blog covers every socio-economic issue prevalent in our society, as the youth are doing everything and not stopping soon.